1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to problems in offering marketing programs to consumers. More particularly, the invention relates to retail marketing application systems and methods using an identification card.
2. Discussion of the Background
Pre-paid gift cards each typically are associated with a dollar value that can be used in a store identified by the card as credit towards a purchase in that store.
A frequent shopper card (FSC) typically stores a CID that represents a unique identification. The CID identification is some times associated in a computer database management system with a person or with members of the same postal or residence address.
The CID on a card is typically formed so that the CID can be machine read from the card, for example, by reading data stored magnetically in a magnetic strip or a visibly as a bar code. Machine reading typically occurs at a point-of-sale (POS) terminal. Examples of data that may be associated in a database management system with a CID in order to identify a consumer or household are credit card numbers, debit card numbers, social security card numbers, driver's license numbers, checking account numbers, street addresses, names, e-mail addresses, telephone numbers, frequent customer card numbers, Shopper Card Identifications (SCIDs).
Prior art script programs are programs wherein a third party organization, such as a school or charity, contracts with a retailer or grocer to sell paper certificates having a face value and that can be redeemed for their face value in the contracting retailer or grocer's participating stores. These certificates are also called “Funny Money.” Funny money has a pre-defined dollar face value. Typically, a third party purchases the certificates for less than face value and sells them for their face value in order to make a profit. For example, a school may contract to pay retailer-X $8.00 to sell a consumer a $10.00 paper certificate, thus generating $2.00 for the school with every certificate sold. The consumer who purchased the paper certificate may then redeem the $10.00 dollar value of the paper certificate when making a purchase at the contracting store.
The present inventors recognized a drawback to prior art script programs. If a consumer makes a $2.00 purchase at the contracting retailer or grocer using a $10.00 certificate, the retailer or grocer would then be obliged to provide the consumer with change in the form of $8.00 in cash. The retailer or grocer potentially loses $8.00 in sales. This loss of sales is commonly referred to as “slippage”.
Prior art rebate programs are programs where a consumer purchases an item with a rebate form included in with the item, the consumer fills out the information required on the rebate form, such as writing the consumer's name and address and the product's Universal Product Code (UPC), and then mails the rebate form and a proof of purchase of the item to the manufacturer of the item. The manufacturer then issues a check for the amount of the rebate and mails the check to the consumer. In certain countries product codes other than UPC codes are used. Use herein of UPC means any product coding convention.
The present inventors recognized drawback to a retailer in whose stores the consumer buys the products for which rebates are available. The rebate program provides no incentive for the consumer to return to the retailer's store. The present inventors recognized a drawback to consumers of rebate programs. The consumer must fill in multiple rebate forms and provide multiple proofs of purchase when complying with traditional rebate program requirements in to obtain rebates on multiple products.
A platform is defined as the hardware system and the system software used by a computer program. Examples of platforms are a client-server platform. The term server refers to any program that offers a service that can be reached over a network. A client refers to an executing program that sends a request to a server and waits for a response from the server. Servers are usually implemented as application level programs. Servers implemented as application programs can execute on any computing system that supports TCP/IP communication or the like. A server for a particular service may execute on a timesharing system along with other programs, or may execute on a personal computer. Multiple servers may offer the same service and may execute on the same machine or on multiple machines. Replica server copies on physically independent machines can be used to increase reliability or improve performance.
A database is a collection of data items that have certain associations with one another, and that may be shared and used by several different subsystems or other remote computer systems via an associated database management system, such as Microsoft Access or SQL Server software. The computer systems and code for accessing and using data stored in the databases define a database management system. A database may comprise arrays, records, and simple linked lists. The word “programmed” herein means that code is either software stored in recordable media or hard wired into semiconductor electronic components.
The design and implementation of various methods of database networking and Internet communications are well known, and are described for example in Comer, “Internetworking with TCP/IP Volume I: Principles, Protocols, and Architecture,” 2nd ed., Prentice-Hall, Inc. 1991; Comer and Stevens, “Internetworking with TCP/IP Volume II: Design, Implementation and Internals, “Prentice-Hall, Inc. 1991; Comer and Stevens, Internetworking with TCP/IP Client-Server Programming and Applications,” Prentice-Hall, Inc. 1993; each of which is incorporated herein by reference.